Meant To Be
by IncredibleT
Summary: After the goddess Aphrodite helps Sho and Arrietty end up together, what will happen next?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own "Arrietty". "Arrietty" was written by Hayao Miyazaki and Kieko Niwa and is based on "The Borrowers" by Mary Norton.

Lyrics from "I See The Light" by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater

"Meant to Be"

CHAPTER 1: APHRODITE'S GIFT

The goddess Aphrodite looked down from Mount Olympus and saw what she believed to be a grave injustice. She saw a love beginning to start. A love that could blossom and grow into something beautiful, but was being torn apart before it can. This was unacceptable for her, and it was something that needed to be remedied quickly. Time was of the esscence.

This wasn't the first time that this happened, with a boy his size and a girl her size, but that was different. He wasn't deathly ill and her family was quite happy and content living under his house. They weren't afraid of him, and they were good friends, as well. Aphrodite smiled at remembering seeing them go from childhood friends into sweethearts. It was when they were afraid of their size differences would interfere with them being together forever was when she acted.

She appeared before them and offered them a choice. He could choose to be her size or she could choose to be his size. She was pleased at their response. They said they wished they could go back and forth between sizes so their families wouldn't miss them. She happily granted that wish, and made it so that their future children after they are married could do the same.

Aphrodite smiled once more. _They've been married how long? Ten years now, at least?_ She thought. Her mind returned back to the present and what to do. The poor boy's ailment needed to be tended to first. A quick visit to the god Asclepius and his daughter should take care of that.

But first, she decided to visit her father Zeus to ask that he would cause a storm to happen to delay that girl's parents from taking her and leaving that boy's aunt's house. She hopes he'll grant that request.

She entered the throne room where her father was sitting down, observing all that was happening on the earth. He looked up and saw his beautiful daughter walk in with a distressed look on her face.

"My dear sweet Aphrodite! Why such a sad face?" He asked.

"Father, I know that this will sound odd, but-"

"You want a rainstorm. Still determined to make sure those two end up together, aren't you?"

"It was meant to be. I know it. Even though they've known each other for a few days, if you just look into their eyes-"

"I already have. I did it when I noticed you taking a great interest with them just like you did with those other two. The boy is more than willing to admit his feelings, but she still isn't, for fear of her parents' reaction."

"I can assure she will admit hers. Please, father."

Zeus sighs. "Very well. I will cause a storm to happen. If you can't get her to admit them, then they will never be together. Do you still want to take that chance?"

She looks her father in the eye with the upmost confidence.

"Yes, father." She says.

"Very well then, it shall be done." Zeus says as he points down to the earth and creates the rainstorm.

"Now go, my sweet daughter. Save their love, if you can."

"Thank you, father." She says with immense gratitude. She hurries off to see Asclepius for a cure for the boy.

Below Sho's aunt Sadako's house, Pod, Homily, and Arrietty look outside at the storm that just suddenly appeared.

"There's no way we can leave out in this. We'll have to wait until tomorrow." Pod says. Homily and Arrietty nod and carry their bags back into their house.

Aphrodite enters Asclepius' home and sees Asclepius and his daughter Hygieia working over a cauldron mixing ingedients to make medicine. Asclepius turns and sees Aphrodite, and smiles.

"Aphrodite! What brings you here?" He asks.

"Hello, Asclepius. I would like for you to make a cure for a heart ailment for a boy named Sho. Even though he is to have surgery to fix it, his doctors aren't giving him much of a chance for survival. I want him to live a long, happy life, and what he's been through, he deserves it."

"In other words, he's sick, and he's found love."

"Yes."

"Very well. I think I can fix something up. I need to learn what type of heart ailment it is." He looks at his daughter. "Hygieia, bring up the health file of a mortal boy named Sho."

Hygieia nods, disappears then quickly reappears with the file.

Asclepius takes it and opens it and begins to read.

"My goodness! This is most serious, indeed! His doctors have no chance! I must act quickly!"

With that, he quickly grabs various bottles and begins mixing up a remedy in his cauldron. He soon finishes, and pours it into a bottle, corks it, and hands it to Aphrodite.

"Here, this should cure him of his heart ailment, as well as any other illness he has."

"Thank you." Aphrodite says as she leaves.

From there, Aphrodite goes to see the Fates, to make sure nothing can go wrong. She enters their cave, and sees all three of them sitting around a fire.

"Greetings, fair daughter of Zeus, we've been expecting you." One of them says.

"You want to know more about that boy." The second one says.

"As well as other things." The third one says.

"Yes." Aphrodite replied.

"Well, since you recieved a cure for that boy's sickness, his thread of life will be extended significantly. He'll live to a ripe old age." One of them says.

"The girl?"

"The same. A ripe old age, as well." The second one says.

"When he is cured, will his mother come for him?"

"No. Her heart has turned cold towards him, as she blames him for the divorce from her husband because of his health problems, and the financial burdens they caused, as well. She's going to leave him in the care of her sister he's staying with, which won't be for long." The third one says.

"Why's that?"

"Her thread of life is reaching it's end. She has a year at most. When it happens, he'll be bounced around foster care until he's eighteen." The first one says.

Aphrodite frowns at this. His aunt remaining alive was crucial.

"What will she die from?"

"Old age, the one thing that there is no cure." The second one says.

"The girl's family. Maybe they can-"

"They wouldn't allow it, unless-" The third one says.

"Unless what?"

"Unless the girl admits her love for him, and the boy is willing to give up his life as a human and become like her, they will never be together and their love will never happen." The first one says.

Aphrodite frowns at this even more. She was hoping for a similar outcome as with the other two. She gives a sad smile and thanks the Fates for their time. As she leaves, she gets an idea, and places an enchantment on the cure. She hopes it will work.

In Sho's bedroom, Arrietty comes to see him. She climbs onto the nightstand and looks at him sadly. How she wished things were different. She wished he didn't have a heart problem so he could be well. Not only that, she had fallen in love with him and also wished they were the same size so they could be together.

Sho smiled when he noticed her on his nightstand.

"Arrietty, what a pleasant surprise. I'm so happy to see you. Does this mean your parents changed their mind?"

Arrietty sadly shakes her head no.

"No, they haven't changed it. We're only staying an extra night because of the storm."

"I see. I wish that you were, because..."

"Because why?"

"Because I..."

Just then, a bright light illumates the room, and a beautiful woman with red hair wearing a flowing white robe, appears. Arrietty is frozen with fear, unable to move.

"Hello, Sho. It is time." She says.

Sho gives a sad, but contented smile.

"Yes, I assumed it would be, eventually."

Arrietty looks back and forth between them in shock.

"Time for what? Sho, who is she? What does she mean by that?"

"She's an angel, Arrietty. Sent to take me to Heaven."

"WHAT?! NO! " Arrietty says, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

"I'm afraid so, child." The woman says.

"NO! I WON'T ALLOW IT!" Arrietty says, overcoming her fear as she jumps on the bed, faces the woman, draws her pin, and takes a defensive stance over Sho.

"Oh, why is that?"

Tears begin to stream down Arrietty's face.

"BECAUSE...BECAUSE I LOVE HIM!"

"Exactly what I wanted to hear." The woman says, smiling.

Suddenly, the woman's red hair turns blonde, and her white gown turns into a blue one.

"Very well done, Arrietty. You passed the test. You admitted your love for him, as he was about to admit his for you before I appeared."

"He was?" Arrietty says as she drops her pin, stunned.

"Yes."

"What is this about? Who are you, really?" she asked.

"I am Aphrodite, the goddess of love. It is my duty to make sure that couples that are destined for each other end up together. You two are such people."

"But...how can that be? We're of different sizes...not to mention his health..."

"That won't matter. Not with this." She says, pulling out the bottle, and handing it to Sho.

"What is it?" Sho asks.

"The cure to your ailment, of course. Once you drink it, all your health problems will go away. Also, there's one more thing to it as well. It will grant your heart's upmost desire concerning that sweet little girl there." Aphrodite says, pointing to Arrietty.

Just then, Sho's aunt knocks and enters the room. Arrietty quickly hides under Sho's pillow.

"What's going on in here? I thought I heard-" She then stops and gasps at the sight of Aphrodite.

Aphrodite smiles at her. "Hello, Sadako. Please do not be afraid. I am glad you are here. There's something you need to know. Please, come closer."

Sadako slowly comes forward.

"Sho, what is this about? Who is she?"

"You might find this hard to believe, but she's Aphrodite. She gave me a cure for my heart ailment." He says, showing her the bottle.

"She has?"

"Indeed I have. Plus, there's more." Aphrodite looks over at Sho's pillow. "You can come out now. There's no need to be afraid."

Slowly but hesitantly, Arrietty comes out from hiding. Sadako is pleasantly surprised.

"You do exist! My father would have been so happy! What is your name?"

"Arrietty."

"It is a great pleasure to meet you, Arrietty. I'm Sho's aunt, Sadako."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too."

Just then, Arrietty gives a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Sho asked.

"It's geting late! My parents will start to worry when they realize-"

"That you came up here without their knowledge?" Aphrodite said with a giggle. "No need to worry. They need to be here for this, anyway."

With that, Aphrodite waved her hand, and Pod and Homily appear on the nightstand, surprised.

Pod and Homily are then shocked and frightened at seeing three people looking over at them, smiling.

Homily looks down and sees Arrietty on Sho's bed and gets frightened even more.

"EEEK! ARRIETTY! GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

Aphrodite looks down closer at Pod and Homily, continuing to smile.

"Please do not be afraid. Your daughter is quite safe. We mean you no harm."

Pod and Homily look at Aphrodite, with her kind smile and beautiful blue eyes looking at them adoringly, and they suddenly feel at ease.

"Who are you?" Pod asks.

"I am Aphrodite, goddess of love."

"A goddess?! What does a goddess have to do here?"

"Well, it concerns your sweet, beautiful girl and that handsome young man there."

"What do you meant by that?"

"Well, they, as you would say, 'borrowed' something from each other. Something most precious."

"What's that?" asked Homily, confused.

"Their hearts, of course. In other words, they're in love."

Pod and Homily's mouths drop. Sadako, on the other hand, smiles.

"WHAT?! THAT'S CRAZY!" Pod says.

"Crazy, is it? That boy cares deeply for Arrietty, as she does for him. He cared so much for her he went to an extreme length to get you to stay when he gave you a new kitchen."

"He nearly destroyed our home in the process while doing it! He scared Homily half to death!"

"Yes, his plan wasn't thought out properly, but was well intentioned. Please don't think badly of him for it."

Pod and Homily look over at Arrietty, holding on to one of Sho's fingers.

"Arrietty, is it true? Are you in love with this boy?" Pod asks.

Arrietty nods.

"Yes, I am."

"And I love her." Sho says.

Pod and Homily give a weary sigh.

Aphrodite continued to speak.

"But the one thing that was well thought out was when he helped rescue you, Homily, from the clutches of that vile woman, Haru. Would he have done that if he didn't care about Arrietty?"

"No, I guess not." Homily replied.

"Considering that, along with everything else, would it be right to tear them apart?"

Pod sighs. "No. But it's still too dangerous for us to stay here."

"If it's about Haru, you needn't worry. I fired her." Sadako says.

"Even so, they're of different sizes!" Homily says.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Aphrodite says, turning her attention to Sho.

"Sho, as I said before, that bottle will cure your ailment, and it will grant your heart's upmost desire concerning Arrietty."

"Which is?"

"If your heart desires to be with her, then you will become her size, forever. If it does not, you'll remain the size you are."

"I do desire to be with her, but what about my mother?"

Sadako gives Sho a sad look.

"Sho, there's something you need to know." She says.

"What's that?"

"Your mother sent me a letter from her attorney. She's signed away her parental rights of you over to me. I wanted to wait after you recovered from your surgery to tell you."

Sho is stunned at the news.

"Why would she do that?"

"The divorce from your father, as well as your health problems was too much for her. She was cruel in the manner she mentioned it in the letter, as she blamed you for everything."

'I see." Sho replied sadly.

Pod and Homily sadly shake their head in disbelief, as did Arrietty.

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine, Sho. A girl like that won't come around again. You'll be foolish not to go for what your heart wants."

The storm was finally ending outside. The clouds parted, and the moon and stars shined through the window, giving a beautiful glow around Arrietty. She gives Sho a loving smile. Sho smiled back at her as lyrics from a song went through his head:

 _NOW SHE'S HERE SHINING IN THE STARLIGHT_

 _NOW SHE'S HERE, SUDDENLY I KNOW_

 _IF SHE'S HERE, IT'S CRYSTAL CLEAR_

 _I'M WHERE I'M MEANT TO GO..._

With that, Sho drank the bottle, and felt his body begin to change.

"


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2: CHANGES

It felt odd at first for Sho when his body began to shrink. He looked up and saw his aunt Sadako, Aphrodite, and the entire room become bigger and bigger as he got smaller and smaller. Then, it was over. He stood up on his bed to check himself and his new perspectives on his once familiar surroundings out.

The dresser and night stand now look like towering buildings. The small TV in his room now looked like an IMAX screen.

He then looked at himself. He was thankful that his clothes shrunk with him. He would have been embarrassed if they didn't and he was naked in front of everybody, especially Arrietty.

Then his eyes widened. _Arrietty!_ He thought to himself. Smiling, he quickly turned around to see her. He sees her standing there, looking more beautiful than ever. Arrietty is overcome with happiness. She covers her nose and mouth with both of her hands, smiles, and tears of joy begin to stream down her face.

 _Oh Sho, you gave up everything for me! I'm so happy!_ Arrietty thinks to her herself.

She quickly rushes to him, puts her arms around him and gives him a kiss as tears of joy stream down his face as well.

Aphrodite is elated to see this. She looks down at them.

"So, I take it you two are happy?" She asks.

Sho and Arrietty manage to turn from their loving gaze into each other's eyes to Aphrodite.

"Yes, thank you." Sho replied as Arrietty smiles and nods as she wipes her eyes before they turn their gaze back to each other and kiss again.

"You're welcome." Aphrodite says smiling, giving a giggle.

Aphrodite turns to Sadako, who is smiling.

"I see you're happy with this?" Aphrodite asks.

"Yes, I am. I always worried and fretted over him over his heart condition keeping him from enjoying life. Now that you've cured him, I can see he'll be able to. I thank you. But there's one thing that will still bother me."

"What's that?" Aphrodite asks, concerned.

"What he will wear. He can't go around in his pajamas all the time!" Sadako says giggling.

Aphrodite giggles. "Don't worry about that." She says as she points to the dresser. "There. Now all his clothes are shrunk to fit him."

Aphrodite then turns to Pod and Homily.

"How about you two? Are you going to be happy with this?" Aphrodite asks.

"Well, I always worried about Arrietty not being able to find someone since there are so few of us. This boy does seem nice, and I think he'll make a good son-in-law one day." Homily says.

Pod scratches his head and gives a sigh and a slight smile. "Well, I guess it would be nice to have someone with a strong back to help me. Okay, then."

"Excellent, then! Well, I must take my leave now. There are many people who need my help." Aphrodite says.

"Thanks again!" Sho and Arrietty say.

"You're both welcome. I'll definitely keep a close eye on you two. Take care, my two sweet lovebirds."

With that, Aphrodite disappears in a flash of light.

"Well, we should return home now. It's getting late. Sho, I'll come for you tomorrow and you can help with building an extra room for you to stay in." Pod says.

Sho smiles. "Of course. I'm looking forward to it." He says.

"Why go back there? Why not stay in the dollhouse?" Sadako asks.

"Dollhouse? What dollhouse?" Homily asks. She then looks at a table where a Victorian style dollhouse sits. "You mean in there?"

Sadako smiles and nods. "Of course! It was built and meant for you and your family by my father. He claimed to have seen others like yourself when he was younger, and wished to meet them and become friends with them. So, he had this house and all the furniture in it built to specific instructions, in the hopes they would move in it. It even has electricity and indoor plumbing too. Would you like to see inside?"

Homily nods. "Yes, I would. Thank you."

Sadako holds out her hand, and Homily, Pod, Arrietty, and Sho climb on. She carefully carries them to the table, lowers her hand in front of the dollhouse, and they climb off.

"You're going to love how it looks inside, mother." Arrietty says.

Homily opens the door to the dollhouse and walks in, followed by the rest. She gasps at the beauty of how it looks inside. Sho was definitely in awe as well. When he was bigger, he admired how detailed everything was inside. Now, he can see it much more.

Homily oohed and ahhed at everything, trying out the various furniture in the living room. From there, she went into the kitchen.

"I'm defenitely looking forward to finally getting to use this." She says.

From there, she went into the dining room, the study, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, and then the one room that excited her the most- a sewing room.

She squealed with delight at seeing a tiny sewing machine along with various spools of thread of different colors and various types of fabrics.

"This is so wonderful! It's like a dream come true!" She says, touching the sewing machine and fabrics.

After touring inside the house, they then walk back outside the dollhouse.

"So, what do you think?" Sadako asks.

"I love it. Are you certain you want us to stay there?" Homily asks.

"Of course! My father would have wanted that."

Homily turns to look at Pod. Pod contemplates what to say. When they first moved under Sadako's home and he discovered it, he kept it to himself, knowing Homily would want to stay there or take some of the furniture. But since things have changed to where only Sadako knows about them and Sho has become one of them, the risk element has lowered, but not completely disappeared. He decides to take a chance.

"Very well. We'll live there. Thank you very much." Pod says.

"Wonderful!" Sadako says.

"If you'll excuse me, me and Arrietty need to go back to our place to pick up a few things. Homily, stay here with them."

"Of course. Be careful." Homily replied.

Pod turns back to Sadako. "Could you let us down, please?" He asks.

"Of course." Sadako replied, extending her hand.

Pod and Arrietty climb on, and Sadako gently lays it on the ground. They hurry to a small mouse hole and go in.

"I do hope they'll be okay." Sadako says.

"They'll be fine. They do this all the time." Homily replied.

As they hurry through the crawlspace, Arrietty asks a question.

"Why didn't we enter the crawlspace through the dollhouse? It'll been easier."

"Yes, but I didn't want her to know about it."

"Who? Mom or Sadako?"

"Both."

Back in Sho's room, Sadako turns her attention to Sho.

"Well, Sho, do you think you're going to be able to adjust to being small?" She asks.

"Yes. I believe so. There are so many opportunities open to me now, I don't know what to do next."

"Well, first things first." Sadako says as she goes to the dresser.

"What's that?" Sho asks.

"You've got a lot of clothes to put up." Sadako replied, taking out his clothes and bringing them to him.

"Um, yes. Of course." Sho says taking them. He takes them and brings them inside the dollhouse and places them on the coffee table. He goes back outside the dollhouse.

Meanwhile, Pod and Arrietty arrive at their home.

"Take only the food and clothes. Leave everything else." Pod instructs. Arrietty nods. After getting what they needed, they leave.

Back in Sho's room once again, Sadako yawns.

"Well, my darling Sho, it's getting late, so I'm heading on to bed. I'll see you in the morning." Sadako says.

"Okay, Aunt Sadako. Goodnight."

Sadako smiles and heads to her bedroom. Sho and Homily head back in the dollhouse. They sit in the living room, folding Sho's clothes and making small talk while waiting for Pod and Arrietty to return.

Suddenly, Pod and Arrietty appear behind them.

"We're back." Pod says.

Homily quickly turns around.

"How did you get in without us seeing you?" She asks.

"Come, I'll show you." He replied.

Homily and Sho follow him to a wall panel that he gently opens to a crawlspace in Sadako's home.

"Wow. This looks amazing." Sho says, looking in.

"Sho, would you excuse us for a moment?" Homily asks.

"Yes, of course." Sho says as he leaves the room.

"You've known about this all the time?" Homily asked.

Pod nods. "Yes. I'm sorry I kept it a secret from you, but it was only to protect you. I didn't want you to come here and get attached to it in case we had to leave."

"I see. But now that I do-"

"I haven't decided yet."

Homily sadly nods.

They go to the living room where Sho and Arrietty are sitting on the couch holding hands.

"Is everything okay?" Sho asks.

"Yes. Everything's fine." Pod replied.

Arrietty begins to yawn. "So, how are we going to decide who gets what bedroom here?" She asks. Pod, Homily, and Arrietty look at Sho.

"It doesn't matter to me. You choose." Sho replied.

Pod and Homily take the master bedroom. They make sure the bedroom next to it is Arrietty's. Sho takes the last bedroom down the hall. After Sho puts away his clothes in the dresser in his room, Pod calls a family meeting. All of them sit at the dining room table.

Pod gives a sad sigh before speaking. A nice home with no danger lurking was nice. But he had lived long enough to learn that such luxuries don't last for long.

"This is only going to be temporary. We'll have to move again, eventually." Pod says.

"Why is that?" Sho asks.

"Sho, your aunt is getting old. I know you love and care for her deeply, but when she dies, this place will become unsafe. The dollhouse will be one of the first things taken out, I'm sure of it."

Sho gives a sad look and nods. "Of course. I guess you're right." He says.

"Do we have to talk about such things now? Let's not make the rest of the night unpleasant for everyone." Homily asks.

"I'm sorry, but I must. It's important. When we have to leave, we'll go back to our old home to stay for a short while before leaving for elsewhere."

The matter is put up for a vote, and they agree to move, but only after Sho's aunt passes away.

Afterwards, they decide to turn in for the night. Pod and Homily go to their room, and Sho and Arrietty kiss goodnight before making their way to their rooms.

Early the next morning, Homily is preparing breakfast. Sho and Arrietty are helping her in the kitchen. Pod gets dressed and heads for the panel.

"Where are you heading off to? Breakfast is almost ready!" Homily asks.

"I have to go to the rendezvous point to tell Spiller that we've changed our mind about leaving. No doubt he's probably worried why we haven't arrived yet."

Homily gasps. "That's right! I completely forgot!"

"Spiller?" Sho asks.

"He's another one like us, but more of a rugged mountain man type. He helped father when he injured himself." Arrietty says.

As Pod opened the panel to leave, they see Spiller standing there.

"Ah, Spiller! Please come in! I was about to leave to see you." Pod says.

Spiller enters. Sho was surprised at how he looked with his unkempt hair, ragged clothes, facepaint, and a rat fur pelt draped over his shoulders. He was also surprised to see he was about his and Arrietty's age.

 _This is Spiller?_ Sho thinks to himself. _Arrietty was definitely right in her description of him. He does look like a mountain man, like Grizzly Adams or Jim Bridger._

"You no show. Began to worry." Spiller says.

"Our apologies, Spiller. Our situation has changed. We decided to stay here."

"Why that?"

"It's a long story. I'm not sure you'll understand."

Spiller gives an annoyed grunt, then notices Sho and walks toward him.

"Who he?" He asks, pointing to Sho.

"Spiller, this is Sho. He's my boyfriend." Arrietty says.

Spiller looks at Sho up and down, then extends his hand.

"Pleased meet you." He says.

Sho shakes his hand. "Likewise." He replied.

"How did you manage to find us here?" Arrietty asked.

"Follow scent from home. Not hard find."

"We were just about to have breakfast. Would you like to join us?" Homily asks.

Spiller nods. They all sit at the table and eat. Afterwards, Spiller makes his way to the panel to leave.

"Thanks for food. Must go now."

"I'll see him out. Sho, be ready to leave once I get back. You need to learn how to live and survive like us when the time comes." Pod says.

"Yes, sir." Sho replied.

Pod gives a nod and takes Spiller to a grate that leads to the outside.

"Take care, Spiller. If you're in this area again, please stop by and visit."

Spiller nods and hurries off.

Pod returns and sees Sho ready to leave. Arrietty is putting her pin on the side of her dress.

"I'm coming along, too." She says.

"Very well. Let's go, then." Pod replied.

All three of them begin to leave.

"Be careful!" Homily says.

"We will, mother! See you later!" Arrietty says, waving bye.

Homily waves back, closes the panel, sighs, and goes to the kitchen to make herself some tea.


End file.
